June 15, 2007
Eight people at Mai Thai for 8:40. I didn't have anything to do with organizing it - nothing to do with picking the restaurant or inviting people, which is just fine with me. I had a reasonable guess about who would be there (and I guessed correctly). I was last to arrive even though I was only about 10 minutes late. By entering via back entrance, I managed to take Mimi by surprise when I took the last open seat to her left. Seating arrangement in clockwise order starting from Mimi was Euvian, Natalie, Sergio (opposite Natalie), Rajiv, Cyrille, Zern (opposite me) and me.
The service at Mai Thai was a bit slow - it took a while to get our orders in and our food arrived nearly an hour after I arrived - around 9:40. People who ordered starters before everyone arrived sounded a little smug about having done so. Food was very good though or so said a number of people seated near me. The closest thing to a complaint came from Mimi who said there was too much chicken in her chicken salad. Because of fairly high level of background noise, I was limited to talking mostly to Mimi, Zern and to less degree Cyrille.
After settling the bill, we decided to stop by Fountain Inn for some drinks instead of heading directly for Salsa dancing. Funny thing was that Salsa followed us to Fountain Inn. There was a live DJ at the Fountain Inn, and about 10 minutes into our stay there he put on Acid by Ray Barretto. It was hilarious. Rajiv decided to dance with Euvian for this song. After couple more songs, the DJ put on something that sounded a bit like Merengue to me but to some others like Cumbia - this song led to Mimi leading Euvian to Cuban Salsa moves. During the course of a under an hour, there was another Salsa/Mambo (a bit fast) as well as Boogaloo/Cha Cha. Some people joked that we should bring some more dancers to this place another time. Haihan joined the group during this hour.
Between all that, we did not get to Club Salsa until nearly midnight - sans Natalie, who could not be convinced to come with us despite the presence of her favorite dance partner Rajiv being with us (he's the best!). The crowd at Club Salsa included Johnny, Serap, their new trainee (I should learn her name at some point) and their friends as well as Pauline (I realize that this isn't exactly her name, but there's no pressing need to correct it), Andrea, Lorraine and a good number of people whose names I have not learned, etc (I'm hoping to get off this name-fest phase of writing - it's getting gratuitous). Steve (one of nicest X-body lead tonight not already named) arrived even later than us - possibly with a friend I didn't recall seeing before.
The music bounced from typical to a bit hectic to nice and fairly mellow. Or maybe I decided to treat my dances as more relaxed affair after a somewhat hectic start. Euvian was put out of the action fairly early after getting stepped on by some guy. I didn't dance much with Mimi until much later although we managed to get a Cha Cha in at the end of the evening - I feel that I'm definitely getting fairly comfortable with Cha Cha doing simple and limited number of moves - definitely easier than Salsa/Mambo On2. Mimi said she prefers Cha Cha over Bachata - I agree (not saying I won't be at the Tony Lara thing). These days Cha Cha is often the highlight of an evening and not only because I think it's a stepping stone towards getting better dancing On2.
Pretty good for a pretty poor night
June 14, 2007
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally assisted by Charlotte
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (inside turn) with leader turning counterclockwise (1 1/4) at the end
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double clockwise turn (preparation for the turn might start as early as just prior to leader finishing his turn) with L-R high and R-L (reconnected fairly late) low to end in hammerlock position for follower (R-L behind follower's R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic first half then a slight twist to left (follower's right) on 5 for preparation and then lead follower into stationary counterclockwise turn (double turn) to get into a wrap with L-R low and R-L about shoulder level
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and lead follower to turn 1/2 clockwise (between 4 and 5) and ending L-R high/shoulder level and R-L low and then lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn leading with L-R and ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise for drop catch to end with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turn 1/2 clockwise on 2 and connecting L-L while turning follower 1/2 clockwise to end in crucifix position - without too much arm movement (presumably using mostly good frame) lead follower to R on 5, L on 6 and full clockwise turn on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full turn (I was doing clockwise turn but one of the follower said I should be doing counterclockwise - I never checked to see which was the version Sally was doing, but I don't think it matter all that much) with L-L high and R-R temporarily disconnected low and reconnected - prepare follower to L on 5 and lead follower to turn full clockwise with leader also turning full (counterclockwise) at the same time
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa-like start and then fake and into a traveling counterclockwise turn for follower led with L-L
Early to the social part of the evening were Sergio, Natalie, Cyrille, Ivan, Haihan, Steve (?) and Isabelle. Late arrivals included Euvian, Nicola, Nina and Stephanie. Jane and Mark arrived for the second hour of classes. People taking classes for the first hour included Rajiv, William, Hayden, Steve and Andrea.
It looked grim for a while, and I thought I was headed for a hard landing. It took me a while to get started - in more than one way. The end of the evening was not particularly great either. However, somewhere in between, there were at least 3-4 quite good ones so it was not as bad as I feared.
I more or less confirmed my earlier guess about someone not being especially thrilled about dancing with me. I was also pleasantly surprised that another person might like dancing with me considerably more than I had expected and had assumed for a rather long time - I could be wrong about that though. I guess I have been noticing a good number of cases both ways. I suppose that sort of thing changes all the time too and will continue to do so - some in day-to-day basis.
How was my form tonight? I actually thought it was quite good - surprising to come to such conclusion considering this was one of the worst Thursdays in recent memory. For most subpar evenings, I could usually point out bunch of things I should have done better or differently, but at the risk of sounding pompous I have to say I did quite well - good control, sound fundamentals, patient and decent effort at engagement. This is unusual.
Miscellaneous. I talked to Ed about driving in London and such. Haihan will be here for a little more than a week before going home. Trying to remember routines from previous week seems fairly common nowadays. I cannot remember which one but either Ivan or Nina gave me a funny look in middle of their dance - I have no idea why but I think they were dancing On2 (and struggling a little doing it) at the time. Generally I am a little annoyed with the On2 situation - hopefully things will be right again soon.
I seemingly recognized all but a handful of the songs played tonight - not a problem since I don't feel sick of any of them yet. Songs played included Anunciado Clasificada, Mentirosa, Soledad, Malaguena Salerosa (no dance), Noche de Salsa (not 100% sure but danced to something like it), Merecumbe (Johnny Colon - Jane), Rumbon Melon (no dance once again), Mujer Erotica (Nicola), La Llave (not sure but probably dance), Anacaona (no dance), El Menu (probably no dance), El Tornillo de Guillo, Me Libere (dance).
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally assisted by Charlotte
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (inside turn) with leader turning counterclockwise (1 1/4) at the end
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double clockwise turn (preparation for the turn might start as early as just prior to leader finishing his turn) with L-R high and R-L (reconnected fairly late) low to end in hammerlock position for follower (R-L behind follower's R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic first half then a slight twist to left (follower's right) on 5 for preparation and then lead follower into stationary counterclockwise turn (double turn) to get into a wrap with L-R low and R-L about shoulder level
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and lead follower to turn 1/2 clockwise (between 4 and 5) and ending L-R high/shoulder level and R-L low and then lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn leading with L-R and ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise for drop catch to end with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turn 1/2 clockwise on 2 and connecting L-L while turning follower 1/2 clockwise to end in crucifix position - without too much arm movement (presumably using mostly good frame) lead follower to R on 5, L on 6 and full clockwise turn on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full turn (I was doing clockwise turn but one of the follower said I should be doing counterclockwise - I never checked to see which was the version Sally was doing, but I don't think it matter all that much) with L-L high and R-R temporarily disconnected low and reconnected - prepare follower to L on 5 and lead follower to turn full clockwise with leader also turning full (counterclockwise) at the same time
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa-like start and then fake and into a traveling counterclockwise turn for follower led with L-L
Early to the social part of the evening were Sergio, Natalie, Cyrille, Ivan, Haihan, Steve (?) and Isabelle. Late arrivals included Euvian, Nicola, Nina and Stephanie. Jane and Mark arrived for the second hour of classes. People taking classes for the first hour included Rajiv, William, Hayden, Steve and Andrea.
It looked grim for a while, and I thought I was headed for a hard landing. It took me a while to get started - in more than one way. The end of the evening was not particularly great either. However, somewhere in between, there were at least 3-4 quite good ones so it was not as bad as I feared.
I more or less confirmed my earlier guess about someone not being especially thrilled about dancing with me. I was also pleasantly surprised that another person might like dancing with me considerably more than I had expected and had assumed for a rather long time - I could be wrong about that though. I guess I have been noticing a good number of cases both ways. I suppose that sort of thing changes all the time too and will continue to do so - some in day-to-day basis.
How was my form tonight? I actually thought it was quite good - surprising to come to such conclusion considering this was one of the worst Thursdays in recent memory. For most subpar evenings, I could usually point out bunch of things I should have done better or differently, but at the risk of sounding pompous I have to say I did quite well - good control, sound fundamentals, patient and decent effort at engagement. This is unusual.
Miscellaneous. I talked to Ed about driving in London and such. Haihan will be here for a little more than a week before going home. Trying to remember routines from previous week seems fairly common nowadays. I cannot remember which one but either Ivan or Nina gave me a funny look in middle of their dance - I have no idea why but I think they were dancing On2 (and struggling a little doing it) at the time. Generally I am a little annoyed with the On2 situation - hopefully things will be right again soon.
I seemingly recognized all but a handful of the songs played tonight - not a problem since I don't feel sick of any of them yet. Songs played included Anunciado Clasificada, Mentirosa, Soledad, Malaguena Salerosa (no dance), Noche de Salsa (not 100% sure but danced to something like it), Merecumbe (Johnny Colon - Jane), Rumbon Melon (no dance once again), Mujer Erotica (Nicola), La Llave (not sure but probably dance), Anacaona (no dance), El Menu (probably no dance), El Tornillo de Guillo, Me Libere (dance).
Merely fabulous
June 10, 2007
Hmm. I was expecting there to be many more Cambridge folks at SOS. No one showed up unless I count Vera, with whom I had a very nice dance with tonight.
SOS was held at the north hall of Royal Sonesta Hotel once again. Apparently they will continue to hold the event at the same room (definitely much better than the south hall) for next few weeks (apparently Mary Ward Hall is being used for exams?).
I arrived very early and had the option of taking part in the class. I did not. I just could not be bothered. So I watched.
Level 4 shine
7 R foot overtake L
1 turn 1/4 clockwise with L foot crossing over R
2 R foot to side (back)
3 weight transfer to L foot
5 R foot toe behind L
6 (or is it 7?) R foot back to original spot as on 2
7& shoulder shimmy (isolation move)
1,2,3 basic keeping feet where there were for 7
Level 3 shine (I only caught the last 2 measures)
1 turn 1/4 clockwise with L foot crossing over R (the part before was grapeviney stuff)
2,3 suzy Q
4 small kick with R foot
5,6 suzy Q
7 small kick with R foot
1,2,3 drop down with knees apart and come up back
5,6,7 back basic
Level 4 partner work (beginning bit) – Tamambo with Eva?
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R double clockwise turn for follower with R-R ending elbow-to-elbow with both fingers pointing up
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-L connection made above R-R and with L-L at follower’s face level on 3 and with follower led immediately into ~1 1/4 to 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn on the spot with leader moving into (or more like behind) follower’s spot to end with R-R in hammerlock position (follower’s spin starts on 4 and finishes on 5 maybe? and leader is now positioned slightly to R of follower to make room for next part) and follower is led into CBL-like finish to end with L-L hammerlock position with leader positioned ~CBL position at the end – it seemed challenging but I couldn’t decide who had the worse task – leader or follower?
Level 3 partner work (rough outline of the starting bit) – Mauro with name unknown
1,2,3,5,6,7 high cross pass ending with leader turning clockwise to face follower and switching to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 I think it was a windmill (down to up) lead (after open break) to get follower to turn 1 1/2 counterclockwise with leader turning counterclockwise at the end and switching to L-R (or was it a double switch?)
After a toilet break, I got into a conversation with Amir and then with Helen and stopped paying attention to the class material. Apparently Amir is DJing about twice per month at SOS now with caveat that he doesn’t know very long in advance when and whether he is DJing. I learned that mandatory education in the UK is only until age of 16! I did not know that! I also learned a little about difference between sixth form colleges and vocational colleges. Aiste was there too – apparently only her second time at SOS and I saw her on both occasions although I never got around to asking her for a dance either time. On the other hand, I did get around to asking the female instructor for the level 3 class – I had been waiting for it for 4 weeks.
My form for the night? I’m not sure. It seemed pretty good, but it might be better to say that conditions were great - I had very many fabulous partners to dance with tonight, music was good and at decent volume, and space was never a problem. Arguably I never felt as good at SOS this year as I did tonight. Okay, there was a beginner who couldn’t keep time, but it wasn’t awful. There was a beginner for a Cha Cha, but it’s not like I’m an expert on Cha Cha. Just the fact that I managed to get Cha Cha practice on both opportunities was an improvement over previous occasions. I think the second one (with the beginner) had some transitions. A few amusing occasions involved an On2 dancer asking me for a dance because she mistakenly thought I danced On2 – I did not realize that she was looking to dance On2 until after the dance was over. Also after my last dance of the evening, my partner confessed (?!) that she doesn't know how to dance On2 (My reply was, “But I was dancing On1!” – at least I think I was. It would be very scary if I were somehow dancing more or less On2 (I really don’t think I was) because that would mean I was dancing On6 – another scenario just as bad might be that I was off time a lot maybe switching back and forth although I don’t think I was). On the other hand, I was definitely confused with my timing initially with Helen right after coming off from dancing Cha Cha.
Songs played tonight included Los Rumberos (dance with the woman who had a baby last year), Siguelo (Helen) followed by Que Se Sepa (very amusing – possibly caused by my conversation earlier with Amir, no dance), Anacaona (no dance but only because I was asked for a song previous to this one and felt too warm - there were a few of those tonight), Hong Kong Mambo (dance), La Llave (dance – was it with a Chinese woman?), Pa Los Bravos (no dance), Amor Perfecto (Vera). I think I would have enjoyed dancing to at least 70-80% of the songs if it weren’t for the room being a bit too warm – it was only marginally less warm today than last weekend.
Hmm. I was expecting there to be many more Cambridge folks at SOS. No one showed up unless I count Vera, with whom I had a very nice dance with tonight.
SOS was held at the north hall of Royal Sonesta Hotel once again. Apparently they will continue to hold the event at the same room (definitely much better than the south hall) for next few weeks (apparently Mary Ward Hall is being used for exams?).
I arrived very early and had the option of taking part in the class. I did not. I just could not be bothered. So I watched.
Level 4 shine
7 R foot overtake L
1 turn 1/4 clockwise with L foot crossing over R
2 R foot to side (back)
3 weight transfer to L foot
5 R foot toe behind L
6 (or is it 7?) R foot back to original spot as on 2
7& shoulder shimmy (isolation move)
1,2,3 basic keeping feet where there were for 7
Level 3 shine (I only caught the last 2 measures)
1 turn 1/4 clockwise with L foot crossing over R (the part before was grapeviney stuff)
2,3 suzy Q
4 small kick with R foot
5,6 suzy Q
7 small kick with R foot
1,2,3 drop down with knees apart and come up back
5,6,7 back basic
Level 4 partner work (beginning bit) – Tamambo with Eva?
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R double clockwise turn for follower with R-R ending elbow-to-elbow with both fingers pointing up
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-L connection made above R-R and with L-L at follower’s face level on 3 and with follower led immediately into ~1 1/4 to 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn on the spot with leader moving into (or more like behind) follower’s spot to end with R-R in hammerlock position (follower’s spin starts on 4 and finishes on 5 maybe? and leader is now positioned slightly to R of follower to make room for next part) and follower is led into CBL-like finish to end with L-L hammerlock position with leader positioned ~CBL position at the end – it seemed challenging but I couldn’t decide who had the worse task – leader or follower?
Level 3 partner work (rough outline of the starting bit) – Mauro with name unknown
1,2,3,5,6,7 high cross pass ending with leader turning clockwise to face follower and switching to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 I think it was a windmill (down to up) lead (after open break) to get follower to turn 1 1/2 counterclockwise with leader turning counterclockwise at the end and switching to L-R (or was it a double switch?)
After a toilet break, I got into a conversation with Amir and then with Helen and stopped paying attention to the class material. Apparently Amir is DJing about twice per month at SOS now with caveat that he doesn’t know very long in advance when and whether he is DJing. I learned that mandatory education in the UK is only until age of 16! I did not know that! I also learned a little about difference between sixth form colleges and vocational colleges. Aiste was there too – apparently only her second time at SOS and I saw her on both occasions although I never got around to asking her for a dance either time. On the other hand, I did get around to asking the female instructor for the level 3 class – I had been waiting for it for 4 weeks.
My form for the night? I’m not sure. It seemed pretty good, but it might be better to say that conditions were great - I had very many fabulous partners to dance with tonight, music was good and at decent volume, and space was never a problem. Arguably I never felt as good at SOS this year as I did tonight. Okay, there was a beginner who couldn’t keep time, but it wasn’t awful. There was a beginner for a Cha Cha, but it’s not like I’m an expert on Cha Cha. Just the fact that I managed to get Cha Cha practice on both opportunities was an improvement over previous occasions. I think the second one (with the beginner) had some transitions. A few amusing occasions involved an On2 dancer asking me for a dance because she mistakenly thought I danced On2 – I did not realize that she was looking to dance On2 until after the dance was over. Also after my last dance of the evening, my partner confessed (?!) that she doesn't know how to dance On2 (My reply was, “But I was dancing On1!” – at least I think I was. It would be very scary if I were somehow dancing more or less On2 (I really don’t think I was) because that would mean I was dancing On6 – another scenario just as bad might be that I was off time a lot maybe switching back and forth although I don’t think I was). On the other hand, I was definitely confused with my timing initially with Helen right after coming off from dancing Cha Cha.
Songs played tonight included Los Rumberos (dance with the woman who had a baby last year), Siguelo (Helen) followed by Que Se Sepa (very amusing – possibly caused by my conversation earlier with Amir, no dance), Anacaona (no dance but only because I was asked for a song previous to this one and felt too warm - there were a few of those tonight), Hong Kong Mambo (dance), La Llave (dance – was it with a Chinese woman?), Pa Los Bravos (no dance), Amor Perfecto (Vera). I think I would have enjoyed dancing to at least 70-80% of the songs if it weren’t for the room being a bit too warm – it was only marginally less warm today than last weekend.
... and people are getting ready to leave
June 8, 2007
A rather large group gathered at Club Salsa in what was another large set of farewell for many people. Cyrille will be back Monday. Zhenzhi will be back in about a month. Agnes will be back in about 4 months. Stephanie will be around for several more days but then she will be gone for most of summer too. Others who did not make it tonight because their exams are not over yet presumably will be gone most of the summer too. Others like Euvian and Zern seemed set to do some traveling too. Also it feels as if Sam is not really here thanks in large part to her grueling commute, which may lead to her not really being here at all. (While I don't necessarily want her to move, it may not be so bad if she did. After all I seem to see Natalie more often than I do Sam now despite the fact that Natalie lives much further away.) Even among the ones who are not students, people I know best (e.g. Cyrille and Mimi) all talk of leaving soon. I can't stay here forever either, and I really should do something about it too.
Many of the people had become accustomed to dancing with large amount of space, so tonight’s conditions were something of a surprise for them. It was more crowded tonight than it had been for last several Fridays. Whenever a new couple entered the dance floor, Agnes became flustered and wore an expression that said, “Please no more! The space is tight as it is!” Zhenzhi apparently left some blood on the floor – I think someone stepped on her toes. Stephanie needed an emergency outfit repair – fixed with safety pin provided by Jane. Sam wasn’t feeling well – recovering from flu as well as the commute. I got a cigarette burn on my finger thanks in part to some guy holding his cigarette below his waist; I suppose no one will be allowed to smoke in public space in less than a month so all annoyances related to smoking may become history soon. Among people I socialize with in England, I only know of one or two people who smoke regularly so the change should be almost completely positive.
Johnny and Serap invited a guest teacher from London for tonight’s class, and he stayed until fairly late to dance with many people. The guy was notable for his height and for strong emphasis on dancing to the music. I thought he either knew the music very well or was able to anticipate different changes to the music better than everyone else in the premise. It was nice to see – I recall seeing him dance with Serap, Isabelle, and Johnny and Serap’s trainee among others. It made for an interesting contrast to some turn-pattern crazy displays (sometimes all over in timing) also observed among some other people. I also talked to Johnny briefly about the UK Congress in particular regarding organizing group passes.
Miscellaneous items. I met Spyros and learned that he has taken over Jamil’s spot at Wolfson College. I reserved some studio time. Vishal chose the song Alabanciosa as the birthday dance song instead of Merecumbe, which was used last three or so occasions. Participants included the guest teacher, Richard, William, Cyrille, Zern and Vishal. The best part for me was that I managed to cue A Man’s World as the next song (although I couldn’t control how the song was finished). Some of the conversation topics during the evening: Spanish, wine, things to do with and how to make a library, Xenbar and dance of course. Stephanie, Zhenzhi, Agnes, Cyrille, Zern and Rajiv were talking about staying up longer until Cyrille would have to take off for his flight. I suppose I could have stayed with them longer especially considering I won’t see some of them for a while, but I couldn’t get myself into it.
Tonight’s music. Early on, it included some unusual choices like Chivirico Davila, which is very different from a typical Vish fare. Heck, even if I put that on, it would be considered weird. The next song was of similar mode but unfamiliar to me. Fortunately, my partner and I survived both songs without the dances becoming a gigantic mess. Most of what followed was energetic fare – both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar songs like Un Verano En Nueva York or Merecumbe (Los Titanes version tonight) or Vasos de Colores were almost invariably fast intense fare. Most unfamiliar songs were also generally high-energy fare. I don’t think Vishal likes subtlety – he almost always chooses turbo-charged and aggressive over relaxed. It made for a welcome and almost too-late change when songs at the other extreme end of the spectrum (e.g. nearly catatonic Fragile (one of many versions) came on followed by La Llave). Not counting Salsathon, which I prefer not to dance to, the only familiar sounding medium speed fare was Me Libere. It was almost a relief when Reggaeton came on although a switch to heavy dose of bland Salsathon afterwards was not – most of our little group seemed to not treat it as Salsa. I did dance Salsa to Get It On.
Agnes wanted to request La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba. I suggested that Vishal probably would play it without it being requested. I was wrong. Oh well. Maybe I should make a request in advance for next Friday. How about Arinanara by Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra?
My dancing form for the evening. A little schizophrenic. Up and down. More often on the aggressive side – I can’t decide whether that is good, okay or bad.
A rather large group gathered at Club Salsa in what was another large set of farewell for many people. Cyrille will be back Monday. Zhenzhi will be back in about a month. Agnes will be back in about 4 months. Stephanie will be around for several more days but then she will be gone for most of summer too. Others who did not make it tonight because their exams are not over yet presumably will be gone most of the summer too. Others like Euvian and Zern seemed set to do some traveling too. Also it feels as if Sam is not really here thanks in large part to her grueling commute, which may lead to her not really being here at all. (While I don't necessarily want her to move, it may not be so bad if she did. After all I seem to see Natalie more often than I do Sam now despite the fact that Natalie lives much further away.) Even among the ones who are not students, people I know best (e.g. Cyrille and Mimi) all talk of leaving soon. I can't stay here forever either, and I really should do something about it too.
Many of the people had become accustomed to dancing with large amount of space, so tonight’s conditions were something of a surprise for them. It was more crowded tonight than it had been for last several Fridays. Whenever a new couple entered the dance floor, Agnes became flustered and wore an expression that said, “Please no more! The space is tight as it is!” Zhenzhi apparently left some blood on the floor – I think someone stepped on her toes. Stephanie needed an emergency outfit repair – fixed with safety pin provided by Jane. Sam wasn’t feeling well – recovering from flu as well as the commute. I got a cigarette burn on my finger thanks in part to some guy holding his cigarette below his waist; I suppose no one will be allowed to smoke in public space in less than a month so all annoyances related to smoking may become history soon. Among people I socialize with in England, I only know of one or two people who smoke regularly so the change should be almost completely positive.
Johnny and Serap invited a guest teacher from London for tonight’s class, and he stayed until fairly late to dance with many people. The guy was notable for his height and for strong emphasis on dancing to the music. I thought he either knew the music very well or was able to anticipate different changes to the music better than everyone else in the premise. It was nice to see – I recall seeing him dance with Serap, Isabelle, and Johnny and Serap’s trainee among others. It made for an interesting contrast to some turn-pattern crazy displays (sometimes all over in timing) also observed among some other people. I also talked to Johnny briefly about the UK Congress in particular regarding organizing group passes.
Miscellaneous items. I met Spyros and learned that he has taken over Jamil’s spot at Wolfson College. I reserved some studio time. Vishal chose the song Alabanciosa as the birthday dance song instead of Merecumbe, which was used last three or so occasions. Participants included the guest teacher, Richard, William, Cyrille, Zern and Vishal. The best part for me was that I managed to cue A Man’s World as the next song (although I couldn’t control how the song was finished). Some of the conversation topics during the evening: Spanish, wine, things to do with and how to make a library, Xenbar and dance of course. Stephanie, Zhenzhi, Agnes, Cyrille, Zern and Rajiv were talking about staying up longer until Cyrille would have to take off for his flight. I suppose I could have stayed with them longer especially considering I won’t see some of them for a while, but I couldn’t get myself into it.
Tonight’s music. Early on, it included some unusual choices like Chivirico Davila, which is very different from a typical Vish fare. Heck, even if I put that on, it would be considered weird. The next song was of similar mode but unfamiliar to me. Fortunately, my partner and I survived both songs without the dances becoming a gigantic mess. Most of what followed was energetic fare – both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar songs like Un Verano En Nueva York or Merecumbe (Los Titanes version tonight) or Vasos de Colores were almost invariably fast intense fare. Most unfamiliar songs were also generally high-energy fare. I don’t think Vishal likes subtlety – he almost always chooses turbo-charged and aggressive over relaxed. It made for a welcome and almost too-late change when songs at the other extreme end of the spectrum (e.g. nearly catatonic Fragile (one of many versions) came on followed by La Llave). Not counting Salsathon, which I prefer not to dance to, the only familiar sounding medium speed fare was Me Libere. It was almost a relief when Reggaeton came on although a switch to heavy dose of bland Salsathon afterwards was not – most of our little group seemed to not treat it as Salsa. I did dance Salsa to Get It On.
Agnes wanted to request La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba. I suggested that Vishal probably would play it without it being requested. I was wrong. Oh well. Maybe I should make a request in advance for next Friday. How about Arinanara by Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra?
My dancing form for the evening. A little schizophrenic. Up and down. More often on the aggressive side – I can’t decide whether that is good, okay or bad.
School's almost over...
June 7, 2007
It was an odd day. Exams are over for some, but not for others. Stephanie was there. Mark, Haihan and Agnes were not. Jane, Richard, Isabelle, Thomas and Rajiv were. Zhenzhi, Sean, Sam, Zoon and Phyllis were not. Nina was. Ivan wasn’t. Cyrille was. Mimi wasn’t. Lindsey was there early but left early too. Nicola arrived later and stayed til later. Natalie was there for the lesson but did not stay afterwards. Louise was there from start to the end. Charlotte, Annette, Hayden, William, Clara, Steve, Sarah, Adam, Caroline, Heinz, Euvian, Zern, blah, blah, blah. A notable new person was named Laura – I think I might have danced with her before at LeL though so she’s not entirely new.
Intermediate with Sally assisted by Charlotte
1,2,3,5,6,7 touch-and-go double turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 drop L-L to get R-R on top, Copa start, lead follower into clockwise turn (lead presumably comes on 4) to end L-L behind follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with leader overtaking and moving into follower’s previous space and doing a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-L kept low and switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start getting free L hand on follower’s shoulder (on her leading side) and lead follower into clockwise turn to get L-L behind follower’s R waist again
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with leader turning counterclockwise start ~7
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and simple CBL ending with L-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to overtake on leader’s R side with L-R high and slightly to L of leader – lead follower to leader’s L side behind leader on 5 and lead follower straight back getting L-R behind follower’s L waist (this seemed like a risky move and liable to hurt a follower who does not know this move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to stationary double turn with L-R initially going down before coming up
My dancing form seemed decent. Merecumbe (Johnny Colon) – pretty good overall with only a few glitches. Mujer Erotica – slowed things down and seemingly to good effect. Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo – as opposed to a different version I heard last Sunday) – a bit spin-heavier than usual and seemingly no complaints. Of course my impression or interpretation could be way off. I give myself some congratulations for passing up on songs like El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars – a bit too nutty for Cambridge) or Sun Sun Babae (Tito Rodriguez Jr – I really could do without those 6+ silent pauses). I imagine I’ll get another opportunity for Rumbon Melon and My Favorite Things. Other songs included Pico Swing, another version of Muneca, La Llave (first song), Noche De Salsa (3rd song?), and good number of songs I don’t know (there are plenty of those of course),
Things I might need to watch out for. I suspect that I am still not always spot on in positioning my hands and holding it stable to keep follower’s stable during multiple spins. Some people seem to spin away without problem but perhaps they are doing well in spite of me rather than because of anything I do – I’m guessing I don’t interfere but probably do not provide whole lot of support either. I may also need to try to do better moving out of the way when leading follower into a traveling turn – some of the times follower trips over my feet might be happening because I am not giving them enough room.
As far as quantity and complexity of moves is concerned, the difference between a rather large number of people in and outside the team or San Miguel group does seem like very much sometimes. How is it in terms of quality of lead? Musicality? (I’ve only begun to scratch the surface and plenty of people still ignore it.) Other factors like confidence or the way they carry themselves? I wonder how things would be if personal histories and friendships were not factors. If for example 20 or so upper-level followers in London no one has seen were thrown in lot with top 10 leads from tonight, would the pecking order be different than it is? Would things be different if the followers came from Los Angeles?
It was an odd day. Exams are over for some, but not for others. Stephanie was there. Mark, Haihan and Agnes were not. Jane, Richard, Isabelle, Thomas and Rajiv were. Zhenzhi, Sean, Sam, Zoon and Phyllis were not. Nina was. Ivan wasn’t. Cyrille was. Mimi wasn’t. Lindsey was there early but left early too. Nicola arrived later and stayed til later. Natalie was there for the lesson but did not stay afterwards. Louise was there from start to the end. Charlotte, Annette, Hayden, William, Clara, Steve, Sarah, Adam, Caroline, Heinz, Euvian, Zern, blah, blah, blah. A notable new person was named Laura – I think I might have danced with her before at LeL though so she’s not entirely new.
Intermediate with Sally assisted by Charlotte
1,2,3,5,6,7 touch-and-go double turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 drop L-L to get R-R on top, Copa start, lead follower into clockwise turn (lead presumably comes on 4) to end L-L behind follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with leader overtaking and moving into follower’s previous space and doing a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-L kept low and switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start getting free L hand on follower’s shoulder (on her leading side) and lead follower into clockwise turn to get L-L behind follower’s R waist again
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with leader turning counterclockwise start ~7
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and simple CBL ending with L-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to overtake on leader’s R side with L-R high and slightly to L of leader – lead follower to leader’s L side behind leader on 5 and lead follower straight back getting L-R behind follower’s L waist (this seemed like a risky move and liable to hurt a follower who does not know this move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to stationary double turn with L-R initially going down before coming up
My dancing form seemed decent. Merecumbe (Johnny Colon) – pretty good overall with only a few glitches. Mujer Erotica – slowed things down and seemingly to good effect. Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo – as opposed to a different version I heard last Sunday) – a bit spin-heavier than usual and seemingly no complaints. Of course my impression or interpretation could be way off. I give myself some congratulations for passing up on songs like El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars – a bit too nutty for Cambridge) or Sun Sun Babae (Tito Rodriguez Jr – I really could do without those 6+ silent pauses). I imagine I’ll get another opportunity for Rumbon Melon and My Favorite Things. Other songs included Pico Swing, another version of Muneca, La Llave (first song), Noche De Salsa (3rd song?), and good number of songs I don’t know (there are plenty of those of course),
Things I might need to watch out for. I suspect that I am still not always spot on in positioning my hands and holding it stable to keep follower’s stable during multiple spins. Some people seem to spin away without problem but perhaps they are doing well in spite of me rather than because of anything I do – I’m guessing I don’t interfere but probably do not provide whole lot of support either. I may also need to try to do better moving out of the way when leading follower into a traveling turn – some of the times follower trips over my feet might be happening because I am not giving them enough room.
As far as quantity and complexity of moves is concerned, the difference between a rather large number of people in and outside the team or San Miguel group does seem like very much sometimes. How is it in terms of quality of lead? Musicality? (I’ve only begun to scratch the surface and plenty of people still ignore it.) Other factors like confidence or the way they carry themselves? I wonder how things would be if personal histories and friendships were not factors. If for example 20 or so upper-level followers in London no one has seen were thrown in lot with top 10 leads from tonight, would the pecking order be different than it is? Would things be different if the followers came from Los Angeles?
Finally happening?
June 7, 2007
It's something that had been talked about for some time now. It's closer than ever to actually happening, but will it really happen? Time will tell. Will it work? I have no idea.
Some tidbits. Movement & Footwork (1.5 hr). Partnerwork (1.5 hr). In principle not a drop-in class.
It's something that had been talked about for some time now. It's closer than ever to actually happening, but will it really happen? Time will tell. Will it work? I have no idea.
Some tidbits. Movement & Footwork (1.5 hr). Partnerwork (1.5 hr). In principle not a drop-in class.
Goose egg
June 4, 2007
I think it would be fair to say that a large part of the blame goes to me. After all I doubt that Vishal would have switched the CDs the way he did if I were not there.
I must have arrived around 10:20. It wasn’t very crowded by the time I got there. Joe and Olga were just about to leave. The music was a familiar but pleasant-enough sounding Vishal fare.
While I was standing around looking for a suitable person to dance with Vishal decided to phase out El Pito (version by Isidro Infante). El Pito has been played in Cambridge for a long time. The original El Pito is a boogaloo by Joe Cuba Sextet – so one would probably dance Cha Cha to the original song. I think the version by Sonora Carruseles probably was also played to death in Cambridge. Cyrille does not think much of the Isidro Infante version, and I recall Joe saying the same a little over a year ago – I don’t know about others. In my opinion the Isidro Infante version released in 2005 in my opinion is quite fun and better than the version by Sonora Carruseles.
The new CD started with six songs I did not recognize – I think one of the songs might have been a version of Mi Mujer Es Una Bomba by Oscar D’Leon except mangled to a point where it was difficult to recognize it. I guess the good news was that none of the songs were songs I was already sick and tired of. What's the bad news? I don’t think I would want to hear any of the six songs ever again. My feeling was that the music was generally complicated without being sublime and difficult to dance to and without a big payoff for dancing to the music - I don't think they would have been good whether I was dancing with a beginner or with a Salsa Goddess. The seventh song was El Pito by Isidro Infante. I mentioned that I rather like this song – in moderation. Unfortunately, everyone was gone by this point and I never really got into dancing mood once I got on the dance floor.
I suppose it's always tricky thing trying to play a song no one heard before. Even with best DJs in London, it is rare that I like more than half of the songs I hear for the first time. Oh well. I wonder if I'm having disproportionate influence in the scene. I also wonder if I start some DJing again - probably occasional Mondays if nothing else to keep myself from getting too rusty.
How I might grade my dancing form tonight? Poor or incomplete.
I think it would be fair to say that a large part of the blame goes to me. After all I doubt that Vishal would have switched the CDs the way he did if I were not there.
I must have arrived around 10:20. It wasn’t very crowded by the time I got there. Joe and Olga were just about to leave. The music was a familiar but pleasant-enough sounding Vishal fare.
While I was standing around looking for a suitable person to dance with Vishal decided to phase out El Pito (version by Isidro Infante). El Pito has been played in Cambridge for a long time. The original El Pito is a boogaloo by Joe Cuba Sextet – so one would probably dance Cha Cha to the original song. I think the version by Sonora Carruseles probably was also played to death in Cambridge. Cyrille does not think much of the Isidro Infante version, and I recall Joe saying the same a little over a year ago – I don’t know about others. In my opinion the Isidro Infante version released in 2005 in my opinion is quite fun and better than the version by Sonora Carruseles.
The new CD started with six songs I did not recognize – I think one of the songs might have been a version of Mi Mujer Es Una Bomba by Oscar D’Leon except mangled to a point where it was difficult to recognize it. I guess the good news was that none of the songs were songs I was already sick and tired of. What's the bad news? I don’t think I would want to hear any of the six songs ever again. My feeling was that the music was generally complicated without being sublime and difficult to dance to and without a big payoff for dancing to the music - I don't think they would have been good whether I was dancing with a beginner or with a Salsa Goddess. The seventh song was El Pito by Isidro Infante. I mentioned that I rather like this song – in moderation. Unfortunately, everyone was gone by this point and I never really got into dancing mood once I got on the dance floor.
I suppose it's always tricky thing trying to play a song no one heard before. Even with best DJs in London, it is rare that I like more than half of the songs I hear for the first time. Oh well. I wonder if I'm having disproportionate influence in the scene. I also wonder if I start some DJing again - probably occasional Mondays if nothing else to keep myself from getting too rusty.
How I might grade my dancing form tonight? Poor or incomplete.
We are big fans
June 3, 2007
I think it was Friday when Cyrille asked me if I was going to SOS today. He said he wanted to dance with Sasha again. Who doesn't? On our drive there, I warned him that I don't always see Sasha at SOS - certainly not every week and probably not even once a month.
Thus it was a somewhat of surprise - a very pleasant one I might add - when we entered the north side of Royal Sonesta Hotel (where SOS was moved to once again for reasons I never bothered to find out) and spotted Sasha at the far corner. So with Cyrille in tow I walked over to say hello to Sasha and her Flemish friend Lise, whom I had met and danced couple of times at Scala last weekend.
Naturally the topic of conversation drifted to On2 and about where Sasha (and Lise too it turned out) learned Salsa. I say naturally only because the only time I ever danced Salsa On2 in London was with Sasha. Anyhow the place turned out to be Guildford where there was some big-name teacher whose name I did not catch but Cyrille recognized. Apparently the Salsa scene is quite good in Guildford, and they suggested that we could visit this Friday for some big event being organized in Guildford. Remembering that we have some other obligation (which presumably will be revealed in good time), we expressed regret at not being able to go.
Apparently it was first time at SOS for Lise, and I ended up having my (and her) first dance with her - On2 no less. So I can now say that I had more than one Salsa dance On2 in London. Hooray. I thought I was decent given my limited repertoire. Over the course of the evening, two Cha Cha were played, and I managed to get dance for one of them. More On2 practice - good news all over! I tried to find someone for the second Cha Cha for some time but no luck.
The room was very warm and crowded. It was not quite the sauna level steamy hot as it had gotten in the south side of the hotel, but it certainly did not make for an optimal dancing condition. It also seemed like there was a bit of an imbalance and excess men compared to women - or at least such opinion was expressed to me by two different guys including Cyrille. My guess is that the numbers were very close to even, but that there might have been more men standing around rather than dancing compared to a more typical SOS evening.
A side note. I'm usually not in the habit of watching other people dance at SOS (although I suppose I did watch Ania last time - and I guess I also watched Eva briefly this evening along with Sasha - which in turn led to talk about Neeraj - really getting off topic here), but I spotted a really stylish Japanese lead tonight and pointed him out to Cyrille. I ended up talking to the Japanese guy briefly - alas he said he's going back to Asia shortly. Probably the biggest name among out-of-town guests I spotted visiting SOS tonight was Emma Moore.
Music was alright considering that Amir was not the DJ. Only about 1/3 of the songs made me not want to dance, and luckily I avoided dancing to pretty much all of them. On the other hand, I danced to at least 90% of the songs which sounded good to me. Cyrille was less lucky - he got stuck dancing to several lame songs.
The only time I was put in a bad position because of the song was when I finally got around to dancing with Sasha - supposedly On2. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I heard the beginning of the song. I should and perhaps might have begged to dance On1 except Sasha said, "You have to dance On2. This is perfect for it." Perhaps - but I also had some fantastic time dancing On1 to this song. Anyhow, it was a disaster and it was all my fault. I was terrible and was trying things I had no business leading given I really had no idea what I was doing. I was off time so often. It was ridiculous, and I thought I was quite decent earlier with Lise and with Cha Cha. In any case, I'm really hoping that help in on the way - less than a week away.
At the end of the evening (11 because of change of venue), the four of us got around to talking again. I noted that I never saw Cyrille dancing with Sasha. Sasha was like, "Yeah! What happened?" "Well... Next week." "You'll be in France next week!" "Oh yeah." "Too bad about this Friday." "We'll have to think about going to Guildford sometime." "I suppose I'm probably here next week. What about you?" "Well, it would depend on my ride."
On the drive back, the subject of Guildford came up again, and I was surprised when I heard the instructor's name again from Cyrille. I must have misheard it because I recall saying something like, "I don't remember that name," when Sasha or Lise named him. The instructor? Marchant Birch! Now it made perfect sense that Cyrille responded, "You are so lucky." I completely agree - Salsa dancers living in Guildford (tsk. tsk.) indeed are very lucky. We agreed that we definitely should try to make it to one of big events at Guildford sometime even if it's quite far away - only 20 minutes off M25 (haha).
I think it was Friday when Cyrille asked me if I was going to SOS today. He said he wanted to dance with Sasha again. Who doesn't? On our drive there, I warned him that I don't always see Sasha at SOS - certainly not every week and probably not even once a month.
Thus it was a somewhat of surprise - a very pleasant one I might add - when we entered the north side of Royal Sonesta Hotel (where SOS was moved to once again for reasons I never bothered to find out) and spotted Sasha at the far corner. So with Cyrille in tow I walked over to say hello to Sasha and her Flemish friend Lise, whom I had met and danced couple of times at Scala last weekend.
Naturally the topic of conversation drifted to On2 and about where Sasha (and Lise too it turned out) learned Salsa. I say naturally only because the only time I ever danced Salsa On2 in London was with Sasha. Anyhow the place turned out to be Guildford where there was some big-name teacher whose name I did not catch but Cyrille recognized. Apparently the Salsa scene is quite good in Guildford, and they suggested that we could visit this Friday for some big event being organized in Guildford. Remembering that we have some other obligation (which presumably will be revealed in good time), we expressed regret at not being able to go.
Apparently it was first time at SOS for Lise, and I ended up having my (and her) first dance with her - On2 no less. So I can now say that I had more than one Salsa dance On2 in London. Hooray. I thought I was decent given my limited repertoire. Over the course of the evening, two Cha Cha were played, and I managed to get dance for one of them. More On2 practice - good news all over! I tried to find someone for the second Cha Cha for some time but no luck.
The room was very warm and crowded. It was not quite the sauna level steamy hot as it had gotten in the south side of the hotel, but it certainly did not make for an optimal dancing condition. It also seemed like there was a bit of an imbalance and excess men compared to women - or at least such opinion was expressed to me by two different guys including Cyrille. My guess is that the numbers were very close to even, but that there might have been more men standing around rather than dancing compared to a more typical SOS evening.
A side note. I'm usually not in the habit of watching other people dance at SOS (although I suppose I did watch Ania last time - and I guess I also watched Eva briefly this evening along with Sasha - which in turn led to talk about Neeraj - really getting off topic here), but I spotted a really stylish Japanese lead tonight and pointed him out to Cyrille. I ended up talking to the Japanese guy briefly - alas he said he's going back to Asia shortly. Probably the biggest name among out-of-town guests I spotted visiting SOS tonight was Emma Moore.
Music was alright considering that Amir was not the DJ. Only about 1/3 of the songs made me not want to dance, and luckily I avoided dancing to pretty much all of them. On the other hand, I danced to at least 90% of the songs which sounded good to me. Cyrille was less lucky - he got stuck dancing to several lame songs.
The only time I was put in a bad position because of the song was when I finally got around to dancing with Sasha - supposedly On2. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I heard the beginning of the song. I should and perhaps might have begged to dance On1 except Sasha said, "You have to dance On2. This is perfect for it." Perhaps - but I also had some fantastic time dancing On1 to this song. Anyhow, it was a disaster and it was all my fault. I was terrible and was trying things I had no business leading given I really had no idea what I was doing. I was off time so often. It was ridiculous, and I thought I was quite decent earlier with Lise and with Cha Cha. In any case, I'm really hoping that help in on the way - less than a week away.
At the end of the evening (11 because of change of venue), the four of us got around to talking again. I noted that I never saw Cyrille dancing with Sasha. Sasha was like, "Yeah! What happened?" "Well... Next week." "You'll be in France next week!" "Oh yeah." "Too bad about this Friday." "We'll have to think about going to Guildford sometime." "I suppose I'm probably here next week. What about you?" "Well, it would depend on my ride."
On the drive back, the subject of Guildford came up again, and I was surprised when I heard the instructor's name again from Cyrille. I must have misheard it because I recall saying something like, "I don't remember that name," when Sasha or Lise named him. The instructor? Marchant Birch! Now it made perfect sense that Cyrille responded, "You are so lucky." I completely agree - Salsa dancers living in Guildford (tsk. tsk.) indeed are very lucky. We agreed that we definitely should try to make it to one of big events at Guildford sometime even if it's quite far away - only 20 minutes off M25 (haha).
A paradigm shift for Friday (or a passing fad?)
June 1, 2007
When Cyrille called to see if I was headed to Club Salsa (around 10:30), I did not bother asking who else was coming. I thought it would be better to keep expectations down and it would be more fun to have some surprises. The group that showed up included Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Mimi and a few friends of Euvian and Zern including a French girl whom I apparently met before.
It was an okay night aside from seemingly running short of options quite early in the evening. One Cha Cha was danced with the girl Johnny is training - it took about half minute to switch her to On2 but there was no problem staying On2 once it was established. Overall control of lead, etc seemed to be in fairly good shape for me. I was using a very stiff frame when dancing with beginner/improvers - I think it might be a decent approach at least some of the time. No On2 dance with Mimi tonight - only about 2 2/3 (incl. Un Verano En Nueva York, which she claimed she disliked) with her in fact while Cyrille might have tripled that number.
Music was not bad. Good aspects included relative freshness of song selections and occasional and welcome slow or relaxed songs. Although Cyrille occasionally said he didn't like this or that song, he also indicated that he enjoyed the Friday atmosphere more lately especially compared to last year - more people there for dancing rather than heavy drinking, etc - generally a younger crowd too.
When Cyrille called to see if I was headed to Club Salsa (around 10:30), I did not bother asking who else was coming. I thought it would be better to keep expectations down and it would be more fun to have some surprises. The group that showed up included Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Mimi and a few friends of Euvian and Zern including a French girl whom I apparently met before.
It was an okay night aside from seemingly running short of options quite early in the evening. One Cha Cha was danced with the girl Johnny is training - it took about half minute to switch her to On2 but there was no problem staying On2 once it was established. Overall control of lead, etc seemed to be in fairly good shape for me. I was using a very stiff frame when dancing with beginner/improvers - I think it might be a decent approach at least some of the time. No On2 dance with Mimi tonight - only about 2 2/3 (incl. Un Verano En Nueva York, which she claimed she disliked) with her in fact while Cyrille might have tripled that number.
Music was not bad. Good aspects included relative freshness of song selections and occasional and welcome slow or relaxed songs. Although Cyrille occasionally said he didn't like this or that song, he also indicated that he enjoyed the Friday atmosphere more lately especially compared to last year - more people there for dancing rather than heavy drinking, etc - generally a younger crowd too.
A familiar CD or two
May 31, 2007
My old laptop sprang back to life, so I spent a little time playing with it. It's so old (5+ years) that I have no regret about getting a new one, but retrieving a small number of files I failed to back up was useful - more or less.
Between this and that, I only managed to get to Club Salsa shortly after 10. I was amused to hear a very familiar sounding CD - the one Vishal had been using a lot in recent months - the one with Micaela, Thinking Of You, Margarita, Montuno Street, Tambo, Temba Tumba Timba, Chin Chon Chow, etc. Apparently it was Sally's compilation - or so I learned when I suggested to Sally to skip the songs after Los Van Van in this particular CD.
Cyrille was a surprise no-show once again. Ivan arrived even later than I did. It felt like Ivan also left early, but perhaps it was no earlier than usual. Generally it felt like there was a relative shortage of leads tonight even though it's possible to say that there also was a good number of missing followers for reasons known and unknown to me. I thought I also thought pretty much everyone danced less than usual or perhaps practicing more instead of dancing. Sergio should be back in two weeks and might get some people to show up more consistently.
I danced a little over a dozen times with at least ten people. I was on a pretty good form - probably having a nice aftereffect of a decent Scala outing. No doubt things were also helped by my partners in seemingly receptive mood. I got one practice On2 - Cha Cha. I danced with Zhenzhi, and I thought we did quite well although the length of the song became a little problematic - I think it was the Wayne Gorbea song from the other day. The only time I came close to getting annoyed was when the old 40's or 50's version of Mambo Diablo came on, and there was no perfect dance partner available for the song. This CD probably contains La Pelota (Ray Barretto), Tumba Palo Cucuye (Wayne Gorbea), Pedregal (Justo Betancourt), Mambo Diablo (oldest of three Tito Puente versions I know of), Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri) among others. I had a dance with Sally near the end after spotting Zern dancing with her - I seem to recall seeing her dancing a lot more than usual tonight (I guess she was an exception to the trend I mentioned earlier).
I ran into yet another person from work - I didn't recognize him from either Salsa or work, but he apparently was not a first-timer.
My old laptop sprang back to life, so I spent a little time playing with it. It's so old (5+ years) that I have no regret about getting a new one, but retrieving a small number of files I failed to back up was useful - more or less.
Between this and that, I only managed to get to Club Salsa shortly after 10. I was amused to hear a very familiar sounding CD - the one Vishal had been using a lot in recent months - the one with Micaela, Thinking Of You, Margarita, Montuno Street, Tambo, Temba Tumba Timba, Chin Chon Chow, etc. Apparently it was Sally's compilation - or so I learned when I suggested to Sally to skip the songs after Los Van Van in this particular CD.
Cyrille was a surprise no-show once again. Ivan arrived even later than I did. It felt like Ivan also left early, but perhaps it was no earlier than usual. Generally it felt like there was a relative shortage of leads tonight even though it's possible to say that there also was a good number of missing followers for reasons known and unknown to me. I thought I also thought pretty much everyone danced less than usual or perhaps practicing more instead of dancing. Sergio should be back in two weeks and might get some people to show up more consistently.
I danced a little over a dozen times with at least ten people. I was on a pretty good form - probably having a nice aftereffect of a decent Scala outing. No doubt things were also helped by my partners in seemingly receptive mood. I got one practice On2 - Cha Cha. I danced with Zhenzhi, and I thought we did quite well although the length of the song became a little problematic - I think it was the Wayne Gorbea song from the other day. The only time I came close to getting annoyed was when the old 40's or 50's version of Mambo Diablo came on, and there was no perfect dance partner available for the song. This CD probably contains La Pelota (Ray Barretto), Tumba Palo Cucuye (Wayne Gorbea), Pedregal (Justo Betancourt), Mambo Diablo (oldest of three Tito Puente versions I know of), Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri) among others. I had a dance with Sally near the end after spotting Zern dancing with her - I seem to recall seeing her dancing a lot more than usual tonight (I guess she was an exception to the trend I mentioned earlier).
I ran into yet another person from work - I didn't recognize him from either Salsa or work, but he apparently was not a first-timer.
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